Everyone says a visit to Southeast Asia isn't complete without a visit to Angkor, the massive complex of temples built by the Khmer civilization between 900 and 1200 AD.
Siem Reap is the town just south of Angkor that hosts the some 2 million visitors that come every year.
From SR, most of the temples are less than 15 km, with some of the further temples another 35-45 km away.
There are hundreds of tuk-tuk drivers serving the streets of SR, and it being low season when we visited, everywhere you went, you heard "tuk-tuk, sir?"
We hired a tuk-tuk for the first 2 days of our Angkor visit, because we were following the recommendation of our Lonely Planet guidebook for a 3-day tour of Angkor.
The first morning, we visited some smaller temples, called the "Roulos Group" which are some of the earliest temples remaining from this empire.
In the afternoon, Mr. Nat took us to some of the other popular temples on the "big circuit".
There are 2 main circuits set out for people wanting to tour the temples on their own, usually by bicycle. The "small circuit" takes you past Angkor Wat (the biggest and most famous) and through Angkor Thom, the walled city that contains several notable sites. The big circuit takes you past more of the bigger temples further from town.
The second day, we visited Ta Prohm, the huge sprawling temple that has been used as a film location for various movies, including Angelina Jolie's "Tomb Raider".
This temple was abandoned when the Khmer empire fell in the 15th century. However, during that same time, the monks remained at Angkor Wat and maintained it.
But nature was given free rein at Ta Prohm, and you can see the results. It was amazing to walk through and see the ongoing fight between man and nature.
Later that day, we headed out to Bantey Srei, one of the temples about 35 km from town. The tuk-tuk took us through some beautiful countryside
and we stopped at one house to say hello to some children that Nat knew, and to give them some of the coloured pens we bought to give to the children selling souvenirs at the temples.
At this point, we were getting a little "templed out", but as all the temples are quite different, they were still interesting.
On the third day, we decided to rent bicycles and see Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom at our own speed. It was an easy 30 minute ride out to Angkor Wat, but it was the hottest day thus far in Cambodia.
We quickly went through the water we took, and bought a few more bottles from the children who are at the entrance to nearly every temple.
Angkor Wat was incredible, and even though the center tower was closed for upgrading and maintenance, we still got to see all the incredible wall carvings and different features of the temple.
Siem Reap is the town just south of Angkor that hosts the some 2 million visitors that come every year.
From SR, most of the temples are less than 15 km, with some of the further temples another 35-45 km away.
There are hundreds of tuk-tuk drivers serving the streets of SR, and it being low season when we visited, everywhere you went, you heard "tuk-tuk, sir?"
We hired a tuk-tuk for the first 2 days of our Angkor visit, because we were following the recommendation of our Lonely Planet guidebook for a 3-day tour of Angkor.
The first morning, we visited some smaller temples, called the "Roulos Group" which are some of the earliest temples remaining from this empire.
In the afternoon, Mr. Nat took us to some of the other popular temples on the "big circuit".
There are 2 main circuits set out for people wanting to tour the temples on their own, usually by bicycle. The "small circuit" takes you past Angkor Wat (the biggest and most famous) and through Angkor Thom, the walled city that contains several notable sites. The big circuit takes you past more of the bigger temples further from town.
The second day, we visited Ta Prohm, the huge sprawling temple that has been used as a film location for various movies, including Angelina Jolie's "Tomb Raider".This temple was abandoned when the Khmer empire fell in the 15th century. However, during that same time, the monks remained at Angkor Wat and maintained it.
But nature was given free rein at Ta Prohm, and you can see the results. It was amazing to walk through and see the ongoing fight between man and nature.
Later that day, we headed out to Bantey Srei, one of the temples about 35 km from town. The tuk-tuk took us through some beautiful countryside
and we stopped at one house to say hello to some children that Nat knew, and to give them some of the coloured pens we bought to give to the children selling souvenirs at the temples.
At this point, we were getting a little "templed out", but as all the temples are quite different, they were still interesting.
On the third day, we decided to rent bicycles and see Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom at our own speed. It was an easy 30 minute ride out to Angkor Wat, but it was the hottest day thus far in Cambodia.We quickly went through the water we took, and bought a few more bottles from the children who are at the entrance to nearly every temple.
Angkor Wat was incredible, and even though the center tower was closed for upgrading and maintenance, we still got to see all the incredible wall carvings and different features of the temple.
Some of the wall carvings in Angkor Wat.
"The Churning of the Sea of Milk", a mythological scene from Vishnu lore. The gods and demons use the serpent Visuki as a cord wrapped around the the holy Mount Mandera, which rises from the Sea of Milk. By pulling alternately on the serpent, together they churn the primordial ocean in order to produce amrita, the elixer of immortality.
The public bath in Angkor Wat.After a quick lunch, we set off to Angkor Thom, and passed a family of monkeys on the way. There were a few women selling bunches of bananas to feed the monkeys, only $1 for about 10 small bananas. 
So we spent a bit of time getting to know the monkeys. One was missing one front arm, so we made sure he got a couple of bananas.
So we spent a bit of time getting to know the monkeys. One was missing one front arm, so we made sure he got a couple of bananas.
In Angkor Thom, we visited Bayon, the temple of a thousand faces. As the guidebook says, it just looks like a pile of rocks from a distance, but once you get close, you can see all the incredible stonework and faces carved into the towers.
At this point, we had had just about enough of temples. However, on the way home, we stopped by two more sites that were highly recommended; the Terrace of the Elephants, and the Palace of the Leper King. 
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